Isaiah Institute Translation

When in one night Ar is devastated,Moab shall be silenced;when in one night Kir is razed,Moab shall be destroyed.2 They will go up to the sanctuaries,and in Dibon to the hill shrines, to weep;they will wail in Moab over Nebo and Medeba.Every head shall be bald, every beard cut off.3 They will wear sackcloth openly;on the housetops and in the streetsthey will altogether wail and give way to weeping.

4 Heshbon will cry for help, as will Elealeh;their appeal shall be heard as far as Jahaz.They will sound the alarmto summon the armed men of Moab,but their spirit shall be broken.5 My heart will cry out for Moab;its fugitives will reach Zoarand as far as Eglath Shelishiah.In tears they will ascend the slopes of Luhith;on the road to Horonaimthey will raise the cry of catastrophe.

6 For the Waters of Nimrim shall be desolate;the grass shall dry up, vegetation disappear,and no green foliage shall remain.7 The surplus they have acquired,and their personal belongings,they will carry awayover the Valley of the Willows.8 The cry of calamityshall encompass the land of Moab;the sound of it shall reach Eglaimand echo as far as Beer Elim.

9 Although the Waters of Dibon shall flow with blood,yet will I impose more than this upon Dibon:I will bring lions upon the fugitives of Moaband on those who remain in the land.

My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.

5

My heart will cry out for Moab;its fugitives will reach Zoarand as far as Eglath Shelishiah.In tears they will ascend the slopes of Luhith;on the road to Horonaimthey will raise the cry of catastrophe.

Apocalyptic Commentary

Moab, a kindred people, suffers calamity in Jehovah’s Day of Judgment, their prayers to no avail.

1 An oracle concerning Moab:

When in one night Ar is devastated,Moab shall be silenced;when in one night Kir is razed,Moab shall be destroyed.

(15:1)

Ten “oracles” or “burdens” (massa’) the prophet utters against foreign powers (Isaiah 13:1; 14:28; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; 21:1, 11, 13; 22:1; 23:1) tie together chapters 13-23 of Part IV of Isaiah’s Seven-Part Structure (Isaiah 13-23; 47). Creating a kind of Greater Babylon (cf. Revelation 17:5), these nations formed the ancient empire of Babylon or were in league with Babylon against Assyria’s hegemony. Among these entities, Moab represents a prideful kindred people. Its major cities of Ar and Kir suffer the same Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of destruction “in one night” the entire Greater Babylon entity does.

2 They will go up to the sanctuaries,and in Dibon to the hill shrines, to weep;they will wail in Moab over Nebo and Medeba.Every head shall be bald, every beard cut off.3 They will wear sackcloth openly;on the housetops and in the streetsthey will altogether wail and give way to weeping.

(15:2–3)

When Assyria launches its overnight attack and destroys entire cities, the Moabites resort to praying and weeping in their places of worship; but too late. Although Jehovah sends prophets to warn of his Day of Judgment (Isaiah 16:14; 20:3-4), Greater Babylon’s inhabitants foolishly assume that Assyria will abide by the peace treaties it makes and not resort to treachery: “See, their stalwarts sob in public; the champions of peace weep bitterly. The highways are desolate, travel is at an end. The treaties have been violated, their signatories held in contempt; man is disregarded” (Isaiah 33:7-8; cf. 33:1).

4 Heshbon will cry for help, as will Elealeh;their appeal shall be heard as far as Jahaz.They will sound the alarmto summon the armed men of Moab,but their spirit shall be broken.5 My heart will cry out for Moab;its fugitives will reach Zoarand as far as Eglath Shelishiah.In tears they will ascend the slopes of Luhith;on the road to Horonaimthey will raise the cry of catastrophe.

(15:4–5)

The cry of catastrophe sounds throughout the land as its inhabitants seek refuge and send out appeals for aid. Hoping to escape destruction, people evacuate danger zones. As among all nations and peoples who comprise Greater Babylon, the wicked are caught unawares: “Catastrophe shall overtake you, which you shall not know how to avert by bribes; disaster shall befall you from which you cannot ransom yourself: there shall come upon you sudden ruin such as you have not imagined” (Isaiah 47:11). So immense is the land’s desolation that even the military is disheartened—“their spirit shall be broken.”

6 For the Waters of Nimrim shall be desolate;the grass shall dry up, vegetation disappear,and no green foliage shall remain.7 The surplus they have acquired,and their personal belongings,they will carry awayover the Valley of the Willows.

(15:6–7)

Greater Babylon—all peoples who choose not to repent—suffers the curses of drought and lost dwellings: “Until the cities lie desolate and without inhabitant, the houses without a man, and the land ravaged to ruin. For Jehovah will drive men away, and great shall be the exodus from the centers of the land” (Isaiah 6:11-12); “You wandering bands of Dedanites, who sojourn in the forests of Arabia, bring water to greet the thirsty; meet the fugitives with food, O inhabitants of the land of Tema. For they flee from destruction, from the bared sword, the drawn bow and the severity of war” (Isaiah 21:13-15).

8 The cry of calamityshall encompass the land of Moab;the sound of it shall reach Eglaimand echo as far as Beer Elim.

9 Although the Waters of Dibon shall flow with blood,yet will I impose more than this upon Dibon:I will bring lions upon the fugitives of Moaband on those who remain in the land.

(15:8–9)

Curses extend to being pursued by enemies—the Assyrian alliance—and being devoured by wild beasts. These, however, are synonymous ideas: “Their arrows are sharp; all their bows are strung. The tread of their warhorses resembles flint; their chariot wheels revolve like a whirlwind. They have the roar of a lion; they are aroused like young lions: growling, they seize the prey, and escape, and none comes to the rescue” (Isaiah 5:28-29; emphasis added). Jehovah’s righteous people, on the other hand, are gathered out: “The ransomed of Jehovah shall return; they shall come singing to Zion” (Isaiah 35:10).